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Healeysport

Welcome to the Healeysport website

Healeysport is the motor sports centre for the Austin Healey Club UK
and this website is dedicated to keeping Healeys racing.

2019 Speed Championship - Sprint and Hill Climb Challenge

The 2019 Healeysport Speed Championship Sprint and Hill Climb regulations and entry form
are now available
click here
to download a copy. If you have any questions, contact Paul Baker
our Championship Organiser on paulbaker51@yahoo.co.uk

The 2019 challenge will be a 14 round championship series with two Healey classes sponsored by Bill Rawles Classic Cars (BRCC) and
two Sprite classes sponsored by Peter May Engineering Ltd. In addition to the class awards, Cape International sponsor the award for the overall
Sprint and Hill Climb champion.

Click on the Speed Championship menu above to see the 2019 events calendar
and lots more.

Following our practice day at Curborough, the 2019 series will take
part in hill climbs at Gurston Down, Prescott, with a weekend (two
rounds) of hill climbing at Shelsley Walsh, Harewood and Loton Park. In
addition, there will be sprints at Goodwood, Castle Combe, Curborough
and Lydden Hill plus a non-championship hill climb at St Goueno in
Brittany.

Each venue provides a different set of challenges to test the Healey driver's skill and abilities to the full. This series is
open to any Healey driver with some or no motor sport experience and a car that can be either road standard or modified; over half the
races will have target times set for each driver, to take into account the different abilities of the driver and their cars, so everyone
has an opportunity to win a race. Although highly competitive, there is also a strong sense of camaraderie amongst the thirty or so drivers
who regularly compete and the social aspect of this sport is very important to everyone.

Jensen Healeys - Welcome

Healeysport now offers Jensen Healey drivers the chance to take part
in the Healeysport Speed Championship and compete against Big Healeys
and Sprites yet in a class dedicated to Jensen Healey cars. The
regulations have been agreed with Motorsports UK to allow for any Jensen Healey - Roadster or GT - that is a
standard road car or modified car to take part. With its modern, Lotus designed, 2 litre, 16 valve, twin cam engine contained in a lightweight body
these reasonably priced, pre 1976 cars will be competitive in road legal form, so with some modification they will be very competitive indeed.

This will also mean that we will have Healey cars from three decades
in the championship, with the Silverstone's, 100's, 100/6's and
Frogeye's from the 50's - the Sprites and 3000's from the 60's and now
the Jensen Healey's from the 70's. Many would argue the golden era of British Sports Car production.

We have drivers signed up for the Jensen Healey class but are looking for more drivers to take part. So if you have a Jensen Healey and would like
to find out more email Paul Baker on paulbaker51@yahoo.co.uk
Alternatively, check out the regulations for the championship and the technical regulations for the cars (menu option above) and get in touch.

Beginners Guide to Sprinting and Hill Climbing

Do you own a Healey - Sprite, 100, 3000, Silverstone or Jensen
Healey? Are you interested in getting more out of your car and doing
something you have always considered but put to one side? Well, why not
take part in a fantastic sport with some really friendly and
enthusiastic fellow Healey owners. Take a look at our Beginners Guide
to Sprinting and Hill Climbing and then send Paul Baker, our championship organiser, an email on paulbaker51@yahoo.co.uk
Alternatively, you can click on our Join Us
option and
follow the prompts.

Healeysport Awards Dinner - 17th November 2018

Our annual Awards Dinner took place at the De Vere Village hotel in
Swindon on Saturday 17th November. A celebration of this year's
achievements of Healeys on track, deeds done and even problems
encountered combined with a dinner, a superb magician called Patrick, a raffle and some fun on
the dance floor.

In addition to the class winning Healeys (Colin Gale's
Sprite, David Lane's Jensen Healey and Richard Mason's 3000), we also had
two of the Castle Combe Autumn Classic race cars - Drew Cameron's famous
Speedwell Sprite and Mike Thorne's Healey 100M in the ballroom with us.

Joe Cox was our Master of Ceremonies and he had a lot to get through.

The awards part of the evening was kicked off by Paul Baker who, with
the help of David Price from Peter May Engineering (who sponsor the
Sprite class) presented the awards to the winning Sprite drivers and then asked Jack Rawles (from Bill
Rawles Classic Cars) to presented the awards to the Jensen Healey and
Big Healey winning drivers.

Along with the perpetual trophies, the class winners this year
received a superb framed pencil drawing of their car in action, for them
to admire in the years to come (all produced by David Price's father -
Martin).

Paul then asked John Wiseman to present some of the points
based awards, in particular, the fabulous Stuart Wiseman Memorial
trophy given in honour of his father for the top scoring
Healey 100, which was won by John Ducker. Karen Norton (from Cape International) presented
all the discretionary awards, culminating in Colin Gale being presented
with the excellent Cape International supplied ships decanter for being
our Overall Champion for
2018.

We had a retirement gift (a pencil drawing of him competing in his
Frogeye Sprite and negotiating one of the tight bends at Curborough last
year) for Rafe Haywood - who has unfortunately decided to hang up his
racing boots.

Jackie Baker, our club photographer, was presented with a huge
bouquet of flowers to show the thanks and appreciation of all the
drivers for her efforts in recording in pictures and videos what they get up to on
track during the season.

There was a rebellion amongst the ladies so the guys took up the
challenge to sell the raffle tickets, with the hill climbers beating the
racers by selling the most. Joe Cox then ran the raffle with his usual selection of festive and unusual
prizes ably supported by Margaret Ross and Jeanette Harris. The most keenly sought, was a huge cuddly
teddy bear, which was won by Drew Cameron.

After the final photo's were taken, the disco got underway and the dance
floor and the bar filled fast.

It was a great evening, finished off by breakfast
together the next morning in a private dining facility before everyone
headed home for a much needed rest. Huge thanks was given to
Huw Edwards and Andrew Taylor and the team at the Village Hotel for organising such a
successful event.

To see all the pictures taken by John Tewson click here and to see a
complete list of the Award Winners
click here.

Healeysport, the competition arm of the Austin Healey Club UK, in the
guise of Joe Cox was invited to run a 25 minute memorial
race at this year's Autumn Classic and we decided to celebrate the memory of Phil 'Scoop' Broster
(pictured right) who became the voice of the AHC
Championship races for over twenty years through his very particular race reports for both the Club magazine Rev Counter, and the national
racing 'glossies'

The AHC Championship was run from the early eighties until the end of 2011 after which the Sprite championship cars joined forces with
the MGCC to run in The Midget and Sprite series which continues to the present day

Phil continued to report on this series for both the
AHC and the MGCC until his untimely death in 2017 by which time he had
become and absolute 'fixture' in the racing scene. He is still sadly
missed but very much remembered for his acerbic reporting and quirky
photography and this race will gave all the cars and drivers
that owe their 'press exposure' to Phil a chance to pay their respects.

The race was sponsored by Lackford Engineering and was open to all Sprites, 100 & 3000 cars that competed in
the Championship races until 2011 plus all Sprites running in the Midget
and Sprite series to date and was run to the Regulations of the AHC Championship as last run
and the current MGCC Regulations.

Twenty three cars took part in the event - 9 x 3000's, 2 x 100's and
12 x Sprites/Midgets,

However, after a sustained period of dry weather, the day of the race
dawned exceedingly wet. It rained virtually all day but was
particularly heavy during our morning practice session. The
afternoon race was a mixture of rain and drizzle. Fortunately Joe
Cox had managed to organise a marquee for everyone to use to get out of
the rain, and also
supplied complementary teas and coffees plus some superb cakes supplied
by Mike Thorne's "The Original Cake Company".

Despite the weather, the competition was fierce. In qualifying
with the rain pouring down, it was Bruce Montgomery (pictured above
right) who showed magnificent car control to take pole position with his
3000, but a whisker behind was Drew Cameron in the lightweight Speedwell
Sprite on Dunlop's in second and Paul Campfield in third. After
lunch the weather eased a little and a dry line appeared on the track
allowing the power of the 3000's to shine in the race.

The Healey 3000's of Bruce Montgomery, Oliver Chatham (pictured above
right), led the field but they could not shake off the nimble yet
powerful 100M of Mike Thorne (pictured right) to provide the damp but
overjoyed crowds
with some very close racing. Overtaking off the dry line clearly
proved a challenge with several spins, but there were battles taking
place throughout the field of 3000's 100's and Sprites.

After 25 minutes, it was Bruce Montgomery who took the overall
honours, with Oliver Chatham in second place from Mike Thorne in third,
David Grace in fourth and Drew Cameron in his Speedwell Sprite in fifth.
All the competitors deserved and got huge admiration from those watching
given the atrocious conditions.

Although Mike Thorne finished third in his 100M, he was selected by
the trackside commentators to receive the 'Driver of the Day' award
(across all races that day) for his ability to hold third place and
challenge for second in this field of cars.

Many thanks to Joe Cox for organising this event, for the drivers who
took part, for the Broster family who came in numbers to support the
race and presented the prizes, and finally to Castle Combe for hosting
the event.

2019 Lackford Engineering Midget and Sprite Challenge

After another successful season, the MGCC Lackford
Engineering Midget and Sprite Challenge overall winner was Steve Collier
in his Class A MG Midget.

The series sponsor will continue to be Robin Lackford of
Lackford Engineering who also takes part in the series in his red Austin
Healey Frogeye Sprite sporting no.57.

This series is open to MG Midgets and Austin Healey Sprites and there are five classes to choose from. Class A (Fully modified),
B (Race modified) and C (Road Going) with the addition of the original Healey club classes of D (Healey spec - Part Modified)
and E (Healey spec - Fully Modified).

The rounds for the 2019 Championship can be seen on the 'Events
Calendar' under the 'Spridget Challenge' tab above. Good grids are expected at all rounds, so come along to any of the
events and witness what promises to be an electrifying series with close racing throughout the field.